Bittersweet Partings
by Perditus
Summary: [Post HBP] One man retraces the worn steps around Hogwarts, while coming to terms with the future of his life.


**Author**: Perditus

**Title**: Bittersweet Partings

**Disclaimer**: The characters in this story are not my creation; they belong to the brilliant Jo Rowling. I am also making no profit out of the story.

**Author's Note**: I wrote this story almost a year ago and have finally decided to post it; thanks to Lindsay for reading it many times. It takes place after _Half-Blood Prince _and follows the tale one man takes in order to grieve. The song used within this story is _Listen to your Heart _by D.H.T. I would like to point out that everything written in italics are the thoughts of the main character. If you like it, hate it, or are just passing through please feel free to leave a review. Enjoy.

_i. _

Soft footsteps whispered across the grass leading to the great lake that once housed so much life. All the happiness in the world seemed to vanish, like a Dementor was around every corner, just waiting for a happy soul to walk past. "It is my belief – and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken – that we are facing dark and difficult times." The words rang so clearly in his mind as if they were only spoken yesterday. How the world that once had been filled with so much freedom had shifted to an existence fearful of everything and one, he could never guess._ "How could I have let this happen? How could I not have seen? It wasn't supposed to be like this."_

I know there's something in the wake of your smile.  
I get a notion from the look in your eyes,  
You've built a love, but that love falls apart.  
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark.

Silent tears ran down the pale face of the figure walking closer to the white light. The darkness lifted over the horizon as the footsteps stopped abruptly in front of the white tomb.

"_Oh how time changes a person,"_ thought the cloaked specter. Images of last June flashed in front of the determined green eyes blurred by memories. _"It had all seemed so clear. Why did I let you go on to the cave? I should have…"_ he halted his tirade, knowing the answer. _"It was the right thing to do. Even if…"_ The thoughts trailed off at the very notion of the remaining Horcruxes that needed to be found. _"Don't think about it. Not now. Not here."_

Listen to your heart  
When he's calling for you.  
Listen to you heart  
There's nothing else you can do.  
I don't know where you're going  
And I don't know why.  
But listen to your heart  
Before you tell him goodbye.

The atmosphere of the grey and silent water awoke emotions that hadn't stirred for almost five years. _"Hogwarts was lit again as the sorting hat opened its brim to speak."_ Recollections of first year drifted along the breeze, rekindling memories of soaring brooms, midnight duels, and perils along the way. The knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone had held so much fear. What would happen if Voldemort acquired it? A world that paralleled the present one would exist: an infinite reign of terror with an unstoppable evil.

"_Except for the small fact that this evil would be invincible, and I'm counting on that not happening this time around," _thought he.

But that fear was destroyed, along with the stone. A hope for a normal life renewed itself. That is, until the second year began. A new year, another attempt to regain power was reborn. The Chamber of Secrets had indeed been opened. For a moment, it seemed as if He had won. Everything was so bleak, and He so close.

"_Only to have it snatched away from your grasp, again. Nice try, Tom, but I don't think so." _

Nothing more could happen, or so it seemed.

"_But I was wrong. The ones I'd come to love struggled in disguise, hiding away from the whole of the Wizarding World. I had the promise of a new home, a family, and finally to prove a man innocent to the world in regard to one summer night twelve years ago. But I never got a chance when I let that vermin go. It still haunts my thoughts that I let him walk free."_

Forth year came and brought with it the Triwizard Tournament that felt lived by another. It had all been pushed aside. Voices echoed laughter from the past as his footsteps traced the worn grounds. But that laughter, desolated as if at the bottom of the lake itself, did not exist anymore. The tournament, the tasks, seeing the rebirth of Voldemort; the nightmare became reality. Another piece added to what would ultimately become the fate of the world. Fifth year came with haunting consequences for inevitable actions. "I DON'T CARE! I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE –"

"_But I lied. I _did_ care. The anger unleashed from within me was never aimed at you. It was all my fault. My fault that Sirius died; my fault that anyone I've _ever_ loved has suffered for it."_

The individual gave a dry sob at this painful fact. _"I was stupid enough to believe Voldermort and that stupid vision. All these emotions erupted as you tried to explain my fate to me."_

Slowly sinking to his knees, a faint image of the visitor reflected off the polished marble surface. He placed his hands on its edges, holding on like a child to its mother as silent tears washed the hard stone.

"_How could I have let you down so badly? You were always there for me and I pushed you away. In the end, is this the battle we should be fighting, even when everyone I need has gone?"_

Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile.  
The precious moments are all lost in the tide.  
They're swept away and nothing is what is seems,  
The feeling of belonging to your dreams.

An unspoken breeze drifted past the Whomping Willow to the spot where he stood, reminiscing the images of his past. The darkness among the Forbidden Forest lingered as the sky above turned a faint red. "We are only as strong as we are united, as week as we are divided."

"_Your words and wisdom guide me along my journey."_

A pale hand reached inside the shaggy robes, pulling out a thin gold chain attached to a dull locket, a broken clasp attached. The same hand placed the locket onto the white tomb, leaving it behind yet never forgetting the dark and difficult road ahead.

The figure cleared his voice and began in quavering tones, "You once said that you would only be gone when no one here was loyal to you," the voice grew stronger. "My loyalty shall not fade away even when we have ventured down different paths. I will always remember."

Soundless footsteps departed from the lakeside with the memories bequeathed to the white tomb, now reflecting orange from the rising sun. It rose over the horizon, encasing the castle in all its majesties. The Boy Who Lived walked into the abating darkness, knowing that what would come would come, and when it did, he would fight.

And there are voices  
That want to be heard.  
So much to mention  
But you can't find the words.  
The scent of magic,  
The beauty that's been  
When love was wilder than the wind.


End file.
